City of Adventure
by TsukiakariNoMichi
Summary: Karakura Town - a city of adventure, danger and opportunity. An invitation to join a Twitter group leads Ichigo to wonder just how much he really knows about his own town and how extensive its underground networks and societies are. Long summary inside!
1. Joining the Network

Formal Summary: After spending so much time in Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, Ichigo returns to his normal life, thinking that all awaits him is his boring life in Karakura Town. However, he is proven wrong soon enough when he gets an anonymous invitation to join a loose-knit group of people who are knowledgeable about spirits and meet on Twitter to share information and have a conversation, and also to hire the services of others for shady jobs involving the supernatural.

Once again, Ichigo returns to the hidden world of spirits with his online 'friends' who want someone with his experience and knowledge. Through his operations in his hometown, he sees for himself the hidden underground world of Karakura Town and its denizens who are anything but ordinary.

Legend: Online handles/pseudonyms will be in **Bold** and their Tweets are in _Italics_, below their handle. The number next to the Handle denotes the time elapsed since that Tweet was uploaded. The "a" is used in place of the "at" symbol found on email addresses, as this symbol is not accepted by this website. Here's an example:

**Handle **a Handle 1h

_Tweet tweet tweet tweet_.

Of course, italics are also used for other purposes like flashbacks, but you can differentiate them easily based on context. Note that this story does not take place entirely on the web. The characters will be operating both on the web and in real life in this story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I also do not own the various brands that I might mention in this story, particularly Twitter. This disclaimer applies for all chapters and it is the only one I will be writing for the whole of this story.

City of Adventure

Chapter 1: Joining the Network

Have you ever had a dream where you were Superman (or whoever your favourite comic-book superhero is) and you did all sorts of things like fly around the world, beat up a bunch of baddies and flew off into the sunset with a pretty girl in your arms? If you have, then you ought to know what a bitter experience waking up the next morning is. I mean, more bitter _than usual_.

Well, stop whining! Your feelings of bitterness come and go within a day, at most. But my own feelings of bitterness have lasted for much longer. That's because I didn't wake up from a dream like anyone else. Being 'superman' was my reality – for about a year, and now, that reality is over, swiftly replaced by my _other_ reality – that of being an ordinary senior in high school (which I happen to be walking towards right now). Surprising? Yeah, I guess it would be, to an outsider. Maybe I should explain further.

I am Kurosaki Ichigo, Substitute Shinigami…well, _former_ Substitute Shinigami. After my final fight against Aizen, in which I had to invoke the Final Getsuga Tensho in a last-ditch attempt to end him once and for all, I lost all my powers. That was just two months ago. I was unconscious for a full month after that, and soon after I woke up, I had to say goodbye to my friend Rukia, who was the person most responsible for my brief foray into the world of spirits.

For a while after that, I stopped seeing spirits. That really sucked. I didn't have many friends in school, so I sort of compensated by talking to spirits. I always got a kick out of helping spirits find their way and by beating up those who disrespected them – well, the kicks came more from the latter, but let's not split hairs. Going about this town, the global centre for spiritual activity, used to be exciting for a spiritually-aware person like me. Anywhere I went, there'd be a spirit loitering about, usually. All that went away for a while.

_For a while._

I did start seeing spirits again soon after that. Well, not really clearly, but I could see their outlines and I could definitely sense them there. This was a good sign – it meant I was slowly regaining my spiritual energy, which had been lost back when I performed my final attack on Aizen. But still, it wasn't enough. Back when I was in my prime, my spiritual energy exceeded even that of a Gotei-13 Captain. Right now, it wasn't even at the level of an unranked Shinigami. If a Hollow were to come out of Hueco Mundo and start attacking me; well, let's just say that ant stands a better chance of survival against a person's boot than me against a Hollow. Maybe I'm exaggerating. _Maybe_.

But it's not like I'm doing nothing. By myself, I try training to do _something_ with what little spirit energy I have. I've tried flaring it (in the hope that exhausting my energy will spur it to increase), and even releasing it in small blasts. But it's nothing substantial, unfortunately. But I've been more successful in other areas. I resumed my martial arts lessons – not at the dojo where Tatsuki and I used to train, but instead, at a new centre which taught MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). The lessons were fun, and I was able to learn quickly and even meet new people there, including a rather interesting bombshell the same age as me, who I just barely managed to beat in a bout. I also went to the gym and jogged regularly.

And that was my escape. I was no longer the man I used to be, so I tried to make up for it by becoming a tough fighter using my human body instead of my spiritual one; by using my polished fists and powerful legs instead of a massive sword. But I still knew that it was still not enough.

I lacked the power to protect anyone.

I had to sit back and twiddle my thumbs while Ishida and the others protected this town in my stead.

Don't get me wrong; I don't think they're bad at their job or anything. It's just that…I'd rather be up there with them rather than being stuck on the ground walking about, waiting for them to come back and tell me all about it. Actually, that's flawed; they don't even tell me about it, really. For some reason, they never say anything about spirits around me.

"Man. This sucks,"

"What does?"

I give a start and look behind at the person who spoke: Arisawa Tatsuki.

"Hey Tatsuki,"

"You look glum as ever,"

"Shut up,"

"Hey Ichigo,"

"What?"

"Wanna go grab a coffee after school today?"

"What's that all of a sudden?"

She simply frowns. "Just answer the question,"

"Well, I don't mind, I guess,"

"Good! 'Cause I've got lots to talk about!"

I raise an eyebrow, but she pays no heed and we walk along in silence. I start thinking about Tatsuki – I put her at a distance when I became a Shinigami. At that point, we were already pretty distant anyway, but I knew she'd want to get herself involved in some way or another. To prevent that, I shut her out. I wonder if that's what she wants to talk about? I guess I'd better prepare something to say to her in that case.

"_Yare yare_,"

After school

We both, as promised, met after school.

"Ichigo, let's go to the commercial district for a change!"

"What? Why?"

"'Cause I feel like it!" she sings. What the hell was with her today? She seemed to be in an unusually happy mood.

"I guess we're going by bus?"

She turns around to face me with a big grin. "Nope. We're going by bike. _My _bike,"

"What?"

"Just come! It's parked nearby!"

She runs off and I follow suit, cursing. Really, what's with her today? We soon reach a parking lot near the school – where a black motorbike is parked. It's big, but not too big for Tatsuki.

"Wait – you have a bike? Since when?"

"Since I got my licence as soon as I turned 16!" she says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Hop on!" she says, tossing me a black helmet.

"Are you sure you can ride that thing? I don't want tomorrow's headlines to be about two teenagers getting caught in some kind of horrific road accident!"

She laughs off my concern. "It's alright! I really do have a licence for this baby!" she takes it out of her wallet and waves it in front of my face. Sighing again for the millionth time that day, I put on the helmet and sit behind her. She revs the engine a few times and takes off. It starts off slow to clear the parking lot, but once we're on the road, she rides like a demon, ripping through the roads like the Ghost Rider. In a very short time, we're in the highly urbanised Commercial District of Karakura Town (really, the 'town' part of the name is a misnomer; they might as well call it Karakura City). People are walking about the streets, darting in and out of buildings, and the roads are packed. They look pretty similar, all with black or dark brown hair and fair skin. But that just makes the oddities stand out all the more. I easily spot a guy with blue hair (seriously? What kinda punk is that?) and a woman with green hair. I didn't get to see their faces, though, since we were going so fast. Soon, we reach a Starbucks outlet and she stops so suddenly that the back of the bike is suspended in the air for a second before it falls back to the ground under gravity's influence.

"Damn! I really thought I was gonna die!" I breathe in and out histrionically once I'm on the ground.

"Oh stop whining!" she laughs as she takes the helmet back and hangs it on the bike's handle. We both step inside and place our orders.

"So…what'd you want to talk about?"

"Oh…a bunch of stuff. You see, I decided to run for a Student Council position,"

I laughed. "You? In Council? Seriously?"

"Well, yes! And I think you should think about it too!"

I immediately stopped laughing. "That's a terrible joke, Tatsuki. A delinquent like me, going for council?"

"Your grades are fine. As long as you keep from beating up anyone, you might be able to get in," she shrugs.

"That sounds unlikely. It's hard for me not to get in fights,"

"Well, you could at least try! You always look bored. You ought to try something new to take up your time,"

"I don't have the time for that kinda stuff," I mumble. Suddenly, her gaze turns cool.

"Or rather, you're just stuck in the past and unable to move on,"

I frown at her over the rim of my cup of coffee. "What're you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you losing your powers, Ichigo,"

I was lucky I didn't have any coffee in my mouth at that time. I'd definitely have spat it out if I did.

"How'd you know about – "

"That doesn't matter!" she impatiently waves my question away. Of course it does matter, idiot! But disregarding my unspoken retort, she continues, "I know what you're trying to do. You're still trying to see if you can go back to the world you used to be in. You're trying to regain your powers to go and fight Hollows again,"

I was speechless. This really threw me for a loop. How was she this knowledgeable? I never told her anything about the world of spirits!

"How much?" I asked when I finally got my voice back. "How much do you know?"

"Everything," she says emphatically. Sensing my disbelief, she says, "Kuchiki Rukia met you about a year ago and made you into a Shinigami. After that, she was arrested and sentenced to death, but you went to Soul Society and rescued her. After that, you had to go to war against Aizen Sosuke and his army of Arrancar. During that war, Orihime was captured and you had to go and rescue her. After that, you fought with Aizen personally and defeated him, but at the cost of your powers,"

"Who?" I croak. "Who told you all this?"

She just shrugs. "That doesn't matter, Ichigo. The point is, I know you're suffering. You've lost your powers, so you can no longer be a part of the circle of friends you used to fight together with. You're feeling left out." She pauses significantly. "I can help,"

I look at her cynically. "How the hell are you gonna help? You don't know what it was like being a Shinigami! To be able to protect my friends! How're you gonna help me like this?" I gesture wildly, my emotions high.

The glare she gives me is so intense I actually gulp.

"There's no way I can understand all that, Ichigo. But that's not what I meant. I was talking about being the one who was left out because I was…too weak," she hangs her head, letting her bangs fall, forming a curtain over her eyes. She then shakes her head and faces me. "I was in that same position once. My friends were on a completely different level; a completely different world. They didn't tell me about their world, 'cause they believed it was too dangerous for me. And now, the same is happening to you,"

I gasped. So that was it. The others – Ishida, Chad, Inoue, and even Urahara-san – they were keeping the news from me 'cause they wanted to protect me. Or they didn't want me to worry. My fists clench. Those idiots.

"If you're angry at them, think of how angry I was at you," Tatsuki dryly reminds me.

"Yeah…I'm sorry, Tatsuki," I rub my temples. "I knew then – and I still think so now – that I couldn't tell you _everything_ about me. But I shouldn't have kept you completely in the dark either. I didn't realise it earlier, but now that I'm in the same boat as you, the truth is right in front of my eyes,"

She nods curtly. "I still haven't forgiven you, though." Her expression softens. "But that doesn't mean I don't think of you as a friend anymore. You can come and talk anytime,"

I nod.

"But seriously…how _did_ you know?"

She smiles and sighs. "NOT telling you!"

I glare at her and she says thoughtfully. "But maybe you'll find out one day. Yes…you'll definitely find out soon,"

The way she was saying it, it was like she knew precisely when and how I would find out how she came to know about me. I asked her to elaborate but she simply winked at me.

"Don't worry too much, Ichigo. Your friends are doing a fine job of protecting this town. Have faith in their abilities. And, yes, I know that doesn't cheer you up too much. But I think you'll soon get an opportunity to get…more involved – in whatever way you can,"

I open my mouth to ask more questions, but she holds up a hand to silence me.

"Trust me, it'll all work out fine, ok?"

I stare at her expressionlessly for a while, before a small smile breaks out on my face.

"Fine. I'll do as you say, and wait. Maybe this 'opportunity' you mentioned will come soon,"

She smiles approvingly and we finish our coffee before she drops me off back at home.

Karakura Clinic

"I'm back!" I shout as I enter our home. There's no reply. Maybe my sisters are off at their after-school club activities for today. What about the dad? Well, who cares about him anyway? I go straight to my room, but just as I place my hand on the door, I hear some sound and I stop.

Was I just imagining it? I twist the doorknob, but then, I hear the same sound again. Curiously, I walk over to my dad's room. I hear it again, and once more after that. It's a short sound, rather like the message tone of a mobile phone. But he couldn't possibly be receiving this many messages, right? The door was ajar, and the lights were off. I carefully open it and step inside. He's asleep, sprawled on the bed. Shaking my head at his laziness, I walk over to his table, where the noises are coming from – is that his laptop? I open the lid completely and stare at the screen.

He's logged onto Twitter and people in his group are tweeting rapidly – the sounds are the notification alerts. Oh. So _that's_ what it was.

Wait, seriously? My dad was on Twitter? I had no idea the bastard actually had any friends. Laughing silently, I turn the volume down to stop the notification sounds. I should've left at that point, but I'm too curious. What sort of people does my dad associate with over the web? I try to stop myself, but I can't help it!

I look at the screen. Here's what I saw (it was a little confusing at first, 'cause the recent ones were on top and the older ones were below, so I had to read from bottom to top):

**Hiroshi Akane **a RedStar 10s

_Of course, I am! BWAHAHAHA!_

**Maebara Mamoru **a Mammy 40s

_So who else is attending the live screening of Don Kanonji's Show? #spiritsarealwayswithyou_

What the hell? He was friends with people who watched Don Kanonji's show? My lip curled in distaste. I was just about to leave but then a new Tweet came up and I checked it.

**Maebara Mamoru **a Mammy 10s

_Just witnessed a Hollow attack just outside the Commercial District!_

And, just after that, someone responded.

**Sawashiro Misaki **a Misaki 10s

_No way! I was just there a while ago!_

I refreshed the page over and over until the next response came up.

**Maebara Mamoru **a Mammy 10s

_So was I! I was just returning from my early day at work! That boy with the arrows sure is reliable! #TheQuincyCross_

My mind was spinning as I left the room. These guys all knew about Quincy? And Hollows? I thought I was special for being able to see spirits! Snapping out of my daze, I shut myself inside my room and took out my iPhone™ and said clearly, "Call Ishida,"

Siri responded with her usual accuracy and initiated the call to my Quincy friend.

"Hello?"

"Ishida, it's Ichigo here,"

"I know. What'd you want?"

Ignoring his brusque tone, I ask him, "Did you just finish off a Hollow in the Commercial District?"

He pauses before saying, "Yes. Yes, I did, in fact. It was just barely two minutes ago. How did you know about that?" he sounds worried.

"Never mind how," I've got other things to ask him. "Did you tell Tatsuki about all the things I did after becoming a Shinigami?"

"What? No, I didn't. I don't even speak to Arisawa-san," he replies. What? So Tatsuki didn't find out about me through him?

"Is that so? D'you think Inoue might have told her? Or Chad?"

"Maybe. Although I doubt it," he says dubiously. "None of us really felt like telling anyone about our wartime experiences for obvious reasons."

"I see,"

"But seriously, how did you know about the Hollow I just took down? Where are you anyway?"

"Me? I'm at home!"

"What? But how? Who told you?" he demands.

"Oh, I found out on Twitter," I say.

"What the hell? On Twitter? What's that supposed to – " Before he can finish, I end the call. How am I supposed to explain to him if I myself don't know what's going on? I toss the phone onto my bed and walk around my room aimlessly. I can't concentrate; it's useless trying to do homework at this rate. Thank God it's Friday!

Days later

"Kurosaki!" Ah – it's Ishida.

"Yo,"

"Don't just say 'yo'! How the hell did you know I killed a Hollow last Friday?"

"Like I said, Twitter!"

"And I don't understand what that means!" he snaps. "Explain yourself!"

"Alright! Alright! My dad's got a Twitter account and I happened to look at it. Some guy tweeted about the Hollow attack. That's how I found out,"

He looks at me in disbelief, but then relaxes.

"I guess there are quite a few spiritually-aware people in this town then,"

"Yeah. Any one of them could've seen the Hollow and tweeted about it,"

He nods soberly, then looks at me inquisitively. "But seriously…your dad? On Twitter?"

"Hey – I was shocked too!"

He shakes his head and walks off. Ishida dislikes social networks. The trend has been pretty slow to catch on in my school, where most people either dislike them, like Ishida, or they just can't be bothered, like me. There're just a few students who actively use them, like Mizuiro (to pick up girls) or Keigo (for stalking). Thank God Inoue doesn't use them, or she'd have every guy in the school stalking her. Laughing inwardly at the thought, I dismiss the memory of my dad's Twitter page. He's entitled to his own life, whether it's on the web or in reality, and besides, it probably doesn't mean much, does it?

That Saturday

"Onii-chan! You've got mail!" my younger sister Yuzu twirls into the house, holding an envelope addressed to me.

"You're getting mail? That's rather old-fashioned," Karin sardonically notes.

"Ah, but you know what they say, Karin-chan! Old is gold!" my dad says enthusiastically. You hypocrite. You're saying that despite being the only one in the family to have a Twitter account? Karin promptly punches him for being noisy.

"Who sent that letter, though?" Yuzu asks, tilting her head curiously.

"It's a girl, isn't it?" Dad demands, his eyes flashing.

"Don't be ridiculous, pervert-dad!" I shout, stowing the letter away in my pocket. When I'm done with breakfast, I slip away to my own room to read the letter in private.

There is no stamp or address. Clearly, the sender simply stuffed the letter in the envelope and left it personally in my family's mailbox. There were two papers in the envelope. The first one went:

Email: **Newcomer_157 a **

Password: **Bg65H7Np**

_Dear Newcomer,_

_A warm welcome to _KarakuraRei_ – the only online community of ghost-watchers from the lovely Karakura Town! I am the group administrator Sakurai Youhei, and upon a request from one of our members, I have created an account for you so that you can also be part of this community of people knowledgeable to some extent about spirits and the supernatural. I have heard that your own knowledge in this area is very extensive, so I am glad we have gotten a hold of you. I hope you enjoy your time in this community! Attached are some instructions. Please do read through them before you log in!_

_Sakurai Youhei_

I checked the other paper in the envelope. It went like this:

_Instructions:_

_Once you log in to Twitter using the email and password provided, go to your account settings and change your name to an online handle of your choice. None of our members uses their real name for privacy reasons. Also, do remember to change your password._

_When you wish to tweet, please do check your location settings. Some of our members have accidentally given away their home addresses by allowing the location settings to 'add a location to their tweets'. It's alright to let your location be known, but only if you're outside. While we should not be suspicious of our friends in the community, it is a bad idea to give away your address so freely._

_Finally, we have a few rules for our community. Don't spam, don't advertise, well, all the usual stuff._

I stopped reading. This administrator seemed pretty lax. The rest of the rules weren't anything much. I started up my laptop and pondered the mysterious letter. Just last week, I'd found my dad on Twitter, and now, I was getting an invite to join a secret society of sorts on the same website.

So…should I join? I was apparently being treated as an expert here, which meant someone probably knows I was a Shinigami and wants me to join. What if it's someone who's hostile?

But maybe I'm thinking too much. Why would an enemy go out of their way to tell me to use a handle instead of my real name, and to be mindful of my location settings? And besides, Aizen is locked up and I don't have any other enemies.

But then it hits me: Whether or not the person who invited me to join this group is an enemy, things work in my favour whether or not I join. If he's an enemy, I could try to keep an eye on suspicious people on Twitter (I don't really know how, though. But I'll figure something out). And if there's no enemy, well, this could be fun. It could the distraction I was looking for.

"_Just do it!_" I murmur, opening Twitter and logging in. I follow the instructions given in the letter, and soon, my profile is ready. I guess I should tweet something, just to let everyone know about my presence and to thank them for letting me into their club. I type it out in formal Japanese – following internet etiquette.

**Miyano Katsumi **a Miyano 10s

_Good afternoon, everyone! Thank you for the invitation to this society! I look forward to working with all of you._

There, that should do it. The politeness is uncharacteristic of me, but at least it gives me anonymity on the web. And the Handle is some name I just picked at random. There's no way it can be traced back to me. I refresh the page after five minutes and find a few replies.

**Oshitari Haruko **a Oshitariiiii 10s

_Welcome to KarakuraRei, Katsumi-san! I hope you enjoy your time here!_

**Shibusawa Sanae **a HelloSanae 20s

_Welcome! It's always nice to see new people here from this great town of ours! I hope we get along well, Katsumi-san!_

**Maebara Mamoru **a Mammy 1m

_Welcome aboard, Katsumi-san! Feel free to talk to any of us anytime. Don't be shy, and things will go swimmingly!_

I smiled at the response. Of course, I still had a lot of questions, like how much did these guys know about spirits, and so on, but I could think about that later. For now, I was just glad to have this opportunity. Social Networking – not so bad after all!

_To be continued_

The Shinigami will be appearing, but only later. Most of the people on the chat are not OCs, but actual Bleach characters using online handles (pseudonyms).

This chapter required a little research on Twitter since I don't use it very often. Of course, I could've chosen a different social network to use, like Facebook, but there are so many stories with Facebook in the Bleach Archive, and besides, Twitter is more suitable for this story anyway. If I make any mistakes, please do write a review or personal message so I can rectify it quickly!

Note from the author: We all know that Karakura Town was apparently a very important town in the Bleach universe, but in my opinion, it was really a very boring town by itself. Tite Kubo didn't tell us much about Karakura itself, and about the interesting humans who live in this city but are not particularly affiliated with Soul Society or Hueco Mundo.

Of course, we can't blame him for that, since he is the Manga Artist, and so, he's the one who decides the direction his manga is going to take. But still, it bothered me, so I decided to write a Fanfic exploring the town itself. The formal summary is given below. I sincerely hope this story, _City of Adventure_, catches your attention, and that it interests you enough to follow it from here on. Enjoy!


	2. The Ibex and the Panther

City of Adventure

Hoo boy! Had to rush this chapter because I'm leaving to go join the army on Tuesday (joining the army for two years is compulsory for 18-year-old Singaporean males). I won't be back for roughly the next three weeks. So, until then, I'll leave you with this, the second chapter of _City of Adventure_.

Note: In the previous chapter, there were some formatting errors. Apparently, this website doesn't accept the "at" symbol used in email addresses. So, I'm switching to "a" instead. So when you see something like "a Miyano", it's the "at" symbol followed by the name Miyano. Also, I can't write email addresses, so I've left it something like this: SoAndSo a tmail (dot) com. I've already amended the previous chapter.

Chapter 2: The Ibex and the Panther

My life – and death – is full of ups and downs. I died an impossibly long time ago, possibly during the Renaissance period of human history. I have no idea where I was even born, but I do remember dying in Switzerland, from which I was trying to travel to Italy as a young woman to catch the sights and sounds of Florence. I remember falling seriously ill and being cared for in a convent. Unfortunately, the standards of medicine at that time were not enough to cure me, and I died in that very same convent. When my soul emerged from my body, with a broken chain attached to my chest, I was shocked to death, if you'll excuse the pun. But soon I got used to it, and I realised that I had to move on to the afterlife…

…Which was easier said than done! Each day, the chain started eating at itself and becoming shorter. I didn't know what would happen when the chain completely disappeared, but I didn't want to find out. Some primeval instinct told me nothing good would come of letting that rope chew itself into oblivion. With each passing day, my desperation grew. Other spirits I happened to see around the city were baffled. All of them had chains, but none of the others' chains were fading away this fast. They advised me to seek out the Reapers. I tried looking for them left, right and centre, hoping that one of them would find me already and give me peace. But unfortunately, I never managed to find them. Before I could see any trace of the legendary black-robed spirits who went around giving peace to use powerless spirits, my chain completely eroded – and I _fell_.

My soul exploded violently – but that was fine, because it was quickly pieced together again in the form of a creature vaguely resembling an alpine ibex, a kind of wild goat. The difference between me and an actual ibex was that actual ibexes don't have pure-white masks or holes in their abdomens. A visceral hunger overcame me and I ripped through the town, eating any unfortunate souls that crossed my path. Even when the whole town lay in ruins and all the souls had been completely devoured, I was not content. I needed more, and I knew exactly where to get it. I held out my hoof and ripped the very air. I walked into the dark tunnel between worlds and when I emerged on the other side, a feast was waiting for me. There were thousands of other heartless negative spirits like me in this sandy desert, where the night ruled undisputed. I fought and fought, and ate to my heart's content. And ultimately, after decades, I disintegrated once again.

This time, I was transformed into something different. I became a massive spirit, clothed in a simple back robe, and with a white mask – what we call a Gillian. There were thousands of other such spirits with me in the so-called Forest of Menos, and they were all identical in every way. All were black-robed, all had the same mask with the pointy nose and round black eyes – and every single one of them was brainless, with only the capacity to eat, fight – or run – and to obey the orders of the more powerful Hollows in the forest. But not me. I retained my individuality and intelligence, and my abnormal hunger. I feasted on Hollows continuously, even making a massive meal out of the other Gillians if they strayed too far from their herd.

After many, many years of staying as a Gillian, I had eaten enough to move on to the next stage of my life after death as a Hollow. I disintegrated for the third time, and became a smaller, but more powerful Hollow. Once again, I had the features of the ibex, except with sharper teeth, which made sense given that I was really a carnivore. Also, I was able to actually use my mouth – something that is impossible for a Gillian. I was finally able to express myself, after more than two centuries of being little more than a beast. My intellect had sharpened, along with my instincts and my abilities. My hunger had also increased, but this time, there was another feeling that I suddenly felt: fear. I had realised subconsciously that once I stopped feeding for a while, I would degenerate, physically, spiritually, and mentally. I would go back to the way things were, and I'd never get a chance to evolve anymore. I ate as I had never eaten before. Any hollow that dared come too close was instantly shredded to pieces and digested. I acted quickly out of fear. I also found that I needed something to cling to, something that would comfort me and keep me going in these times. I needed a _name_.

Nelliel.

_Nelliel tu Odelschwanck_.

_Nel_.

I was freed from my fear centuries later. I – a simple girl from Switzerland – had done what only a select handful of Hollows have ever accomplished in the long and bloody history of Hollows. I became a Vasto Lorde – the final stage in a Hollow's evolution. I was at my prime, at the pinnacle of evolutionary success. And, on top of that, I was _free_. I no longer needed to feed like I used to. I was now free to take on other pursuits. I made quick trips to the real world and pilfered items like books and manuals. I educated myself thoroughly on a wide range of subjects, the most interesting of which were finance and accounting. I also went to meet other Hollows. I met two Adjuchas who decided to stick with me for protection and for a better chance to find food. I didn't really mind; they were intelligent and rather refined for Adjuchas. The three of us stayed together in the desert for a long time, protecting each other and staying alive in the lifeless world of Hueco Mundo.

And then, Aizen came along. He was a Shinigami, and yet he greeted me like one would greet an equal. He requested me to join his army against the Shinigami. He was an interesting man, and his company would prove much better than that of the Hollows outside in Hueco Mundo. And so, with my two familiars, I became an Arrancar in the service of Aizen Sosuke. I was given the post of _Tercera Espada_ – Espada number three. I made friends as an Espada member, including Number 1, Coyote Starrk, Number four, Tier Harribel and Number 5, Ulquiorra Cifer. And I also made enemies – Number 8, Nnoitra Gilga. Still, all went well…until, well…until I was attacked by Number 8. That attack left me in the vulnerable form of a mere child.

Thank goodness for the presence of my two loyal followers, Pesche and Dondochakka, who took care of me in the desert and protected me. Thank goodness for the new 'pet' they found, Bawa-Bawa, who helped us escape our enemies countless times. And thank goodness for Kurosaki Ichigo. He - the Shinigami who came into Hueco Mundo to rescue a friend, and was so magnanimous that he even took me under his wing even though I was deadweight and contributed nothing to his mission. Without him, I would merely have survived. But because of him, I survived, _and_ became the person I used to be. I grew back my mask fragments and became an adult again, if only for a brief few minutes. After that one time, I gradually grew again, and this time, the change was permanent. I was an adult, once again.

Now I had a lot of time on my hands. The war was over and Aizen was either dead or a prisoner of the Shinigami. I no longer had to fight. After loitering around in Las Noches for a while, where Arrancar sat around dejectedly, having lost the will to fight after their crushing defeat, I spoke to my old friend Tier Harribel. She had somehow survived, and was very bitter towards Aizen, who had apparently betrayed her. We both spoke for a long time; both of us had been betrayed by the people around us who were supposed to be our comrades, and just being with one another was cathartic. About one and a half months ago, we both made a decision to move on. Harribel gathered the remaining Arrancar and became their leader. She offered to share power with me, but I declined. I had better things on my mind.

I had to meet Ichigo again.

Therefore, I opened a Garganta and went to the real world. When I first got in, two Shinigami, a Quincy and a human girl appeared before me and they all seemed hostile – at first. But when I told them my story, they backed down. The girl – Inoue Orihime – vouched for me once she saw me, having seen me transform between my child and adult forms before. The Quincy boy – Ishida Uryu – also vouched for me when he realised that I was the child he had met together with Ichigo. The two Shinigami listened to the children's words and did not attack me. I inquired as to what had happened to Ichigo. When I asked them this, the three guys became grim and the girl looked close to tears. Apparently he was unconscious and looked unlikely to wake up from his coma any time soon. Ichigo's father, Isshin (one of the two Shinigami), told me tightly that he would most likely wake up in another two weeks due to the after-effects of a certain technique Ichigo had used, but he seemed worried nonetheless. He also mentioned that Ichigo would never be able to see spirits again. I thanked them for their cooperation and three of them left at that point to go back to Ichigo's side. I could've gone with them, but I chose not to. The last man, Urahara Kisuke, seemed interested in my decision and invited me to his shop for tea.

"How can I trust you? You have every reason to arrest me, or even kill me. I am an Arrancar, and you're a Shinigami,"

He simply smiled, "Ah, but I'm an underground Shinigami. I don't work with the 'official Shinigami' anymore, even though I used to be one of them. Relax, I promise I won't attack you," he wiggled his eyebrows as he spoke. A smile tugged at my lips, in spite of myself. Here was another interesting man. I accepted his invitation and had tea and snacks at his little candy shop. There, he revealed that he was in fact a freelance scientist and inventor and helped the Shinigami who came along once in a while. He also mentioned that he made reiatsu-concealing Faux Bodies for Shinigami to use in the real world, and offered some of his services. I wasn't interested in them, because I had no need of services that were usually needed by Shinigami, but his mention of Faux Bodies intrigued me.

"So faux bodies are used by Shinigami in the real world?"

"Indeed, Ms Odelschwanck! They suppress reiatsu and allow the Shinigami to be seen readily by others, which is a great help in some of their missions!"

"Do you think it might work for Arrancar?"

"Well, I've never tried. It's not like I've had any willing volunteers to try!" he laughed. "But why would you ask that?"

I fell silent and thought about it. When I'd made up my mind, I spoke.

"I don't want to go back to Hueco Mundo. I've had enough of Hollows and Menos. I want to disappear, and just live in the Human World,"

He asked meaningfully, "How can I trust you? If I help you with this, I'd essentially be setting a powerful Hollow loose into the world of humans. That's not something any sane man would do," he tilted his head, having turned my earlier question right back at me.

Sweat rolled down my forehead. After coming back to the human world for the first time in many, many years, I had absolutely no intention of returning to Hueco Mundo. And for that, I had to get a faux body or my reiatsu would cause me to stand out. And besides, I wanted to see Ichigo again. For that, I had to get a Faux Body.

"I'm an Arrancar. We have no need to feed anymore. I can get by eating the same kind of food as normal humans, in fact,"

He narrowed his eyes and nodded slowly.

"You really don't want to go back, do you?"

"No," I replied resolutely.

"Well, it's not like me to refuse a damsel in distress," he said, suddenly cheerful again. "I'll make you a faux body. But I have a condition,"

"What would that be?"

"In order to eject your soul from your faux body, you have to have soul pills, or a special glove. My condition is that you get by without these items,"

"So, you're basically imprisoning me inside a Faux Body?"

"Not really," he waved my concerns aside. "You can always come to me for a pill or the glove if you really have to. If I think you have a good reason to get out of your body, I'll give it to you for that one time. But if not…" he shrugs.

I narrowed my eyes. "You do realise I can always get out of my own body by killing myself? As in, by killing the physical body?"

"That's true. And I've already thought of that. But if you do that, I will hunt you down, Ms Odelschwanck," he said. All the time, his voice had the same cheerful tone. It suddenly became hard as he said this, "It's simply not natural for a Hollow to live among humans, even if you're an Arrancar. If you want to do so anyway, you should expect harsh regulations like these. Know that if the Shinigami find you, they'll be a hell of a lot harsher than me,"

I shook my head and sighed, "Ok. Fine. I'll agree to your conditions,"

"I'm delighted to hear that! For an extra 1000 US Dollars, I can throw in other knick-knacks like a place to live, a wardrobe, and even a job!"

"A job?"

"Well, yes! If you want to fit in here, you need a job! Plus clothes and a place to live!"

I thought about it, then a thought crossed my mind and I talked to Urahara about it. When he heard about my plan, he laughed out loud. In fact, he was so entertained that he offered to knock off 300 dollars from my bill. It worked beautifully and soon, I was working at the local bank as an accountant.

What was this idea of mine? It simply involved a forged certificate which declared me a qualified accountant – Being the crook he was, Urahara found the idea extremely entertaining. The hiring manager at the bank fell for it instantly and I managed to smoke my way through the interview. I was a little rusty, given that it had been years since I'd last read a book on accounting, but I had more or less all the skills in my head, and soon, I got the hang of it. Very soon, I repaid Urahara all the money I owed him. It's been only about a month since I started working, but I'm already settled into the real world. I've already started working on my investment portfolio and I'm thinking of buying my own place to live next. Goaded on by some stock tips I shared with him, Urahara's become friendlier and has even hinted that he might give me control over my own faux body soon.

Also, Ichigo woke up from his coma. It was just as his father had said; he lacked the ability to see spirits anymore. I haven't gone to see him yet, though. I wondered if I really should see him, actually. He was no longer part of the world of spirits; isn't it time to let him relax without coming back into his life so suddenly? My presence would simply remind him of the world he left behind. There's no point in seeing him anymore. So instead, I decided to help him in other ways. Whenever I saw a Hollow, I'd call Ishida or Urahara and alert them. I wasn't able to use my full power from my faux body, being capable only of small things like a low-powered bala. But I could still help out in the quest to protect the town from Hollows.

I also donated money. My lifestyle didn't take up much money, and the rent was surprisingly cheap for an apartment in the commercial district. A lot of my money went into Ichigo's school, through anonymous donations. The same went for his sisters' school too. The rest of my income went straight to the bank or to my investments.

I was fortunate. I came from an entirely different world, but thanks to a few good friends and connections, plus my knowledge gained from reading a variety of good books decades back, I was able to settle into a very comfortable and secure life in Karakura Town. All this was done in the short space of one month. It's awe-inspiring what one can do with a single month's salary.

Then, something out of the ordinary happened to me about one and a half months after my visit to the real world. Just as I was about to leave the office for the day, I found a letter on my desk addressed to me. It must have been simply laid there (rather than sent through the postal service) as there was no stamp or sender's address on it.

Email: **Newcomer_156 a tmail (dot) com**

Password: **Gt65d7Fr**

_Dear Newcomer,_

_A warm welcome to _KarakuraRei_ – the only online community of ghost-watchers from the lovely Karakura Town! I am the group administrator, Sakurai Youhei, and I am sending you this letter acting on a tip-off from one of our members that you may be knowledgeable about spirits. We are always pleased to welcome people like you into our community, and so, I have taken the liberty to create an account for you so that you can join us on Twitter. I hope you enjoy your time with us! Attached are some instructions. Please do read through them before you log in!_

_Sakurai Youhei_

_Instructions_

_This email and password are for a group on Twitter. Once you log in, please open your account settings and make a few changes: firstly, change the name to an online handle (pseudonym) of your choice. This group is anonymous and we will not force anyone to reveal their identity, unless they voluntarily wish to share such information (we do not recommend this, however, for privacy's sake). Also, please do remember to change your password._

_Also, check your location settings, and change it such that Twitter does not add a location to your tweets. This is to ensure that you do not inadvertently give away your own home address whenever you tweet. However, it is perfectly fine to add a location when outside._

_Finally, please do not spam or advertise in this group. Also, do note that this group is a private one. If you think someone should join this group, please submit a request to me via email (to the address _sakuraiyouhei a tmail (dot) com_) and I will create a new account for this new member._

_That will be all. Once again, welcome to KarakuraRei, and enjoy your time here!_

I read through the whole letter on my way out of my office and as I walked along to my apartment. I was so engrossed that I only looked up once, when a motorbike sped past, ridden by two students (wearing the uniform of Ichigo's school!). So this was a society of people who could see spirits and they wanted me to join because they knew I was "knowledgeable about spirits", in their own words. I was at first tempted to dismiss these guys as a bunch of amateurs who believed in urban legends and superstitions. But that one phrase caught me. How would these people know about me and my "special knowledge"? They suddenly didn't seem like a bunch of amateurs and horror otakus. My heart races as another possibility enters my mind: someone is trying to manipulate me. Maybe it's Aizen, or someone like him, trying to recruit an army. Maybe someone wants my power and is trying to take me out of my 'retirement' for that reason.

Well, whatever. I stuff the envelope into my bag and walk faster. I can think about this at home instead. I could also try calling Urahara to ask him about this. I could do that right now, but I'd rather not use the phone while walking.

"Nelliel? Nelliel, is that you?"

What? Did someone just call me?

"NELLIEL!" I turn around, startled, as the male voice suddenly shouts my name. Who could that be? It's a rough voice, and one that's oddly familiar. Then I see who it is. Bright blue hair and blue eyes – there's no mistake about it.

It's Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. The Sexta Espada in Aizen's army. As soon as I get over my shock, I glare at him. I still remember his cruelty and the way he fought so viciously with Ichigo – all without any reason. Right now, he's in a faux body, which is evident from his lack of a Hollow hole and mask fragments, and his reiatsu, which has been concealed almost perfectly. He's wearing blue jeans, tough-looking leather shoes and dark blue hoodie over a black V-necked T-shirt.

"So it's really you. I heard from Urahara that you're in this city, but I didn't see you around until now," he says casually.

"Grimmjow. What're you doing here?"

"Same as you," he shrugs. "I decided to get out of Hueco Mundo for a while and live here – in the human world. Urahara set me up with the Faux Body,"

I glare at him condescendingly. "You just came looking for Ichigo, didn't you?"

"Huh? Kurosaki? Well, yeah, I guess. I still got a score to settle with him, after all,"

"Well, too bad he's no longer able to fight spirits again. He can't even see spirits any longer," I roll my eyes, knowing that the fight means nothing to Grimmjow if they don't do it in their spirit bodies.

He smiles, with a faraway look in his eyes. "I know! But things aren't gonna stay this way forever. That guy'll reclaim his power sooner or later – and I'm betting sooner. It's just not like him to sit by idly while his friends fight the battles he's supposed to be fighting"

He's certainly got a point. "So you're just gonna sit tight and wait for him to get back his power?"

"Nothing else I can do. I could go back to Hueco Mundo, but that'd mean I'd have to kowtow to Harribel. That doesn't sit well with me,"

"Harribel doesn't make anyone _kowtow_ to her!"

"What's the difference?" he snaps. "Either way it means I've got to be someone's subordinate. I don't want that kinda life – even if I have to leave Hueco Mundo!"

I shake my head at him, then I realise something and laugh. "I bet Urahara's keeping you on a short leash,"

I'm right – he turns bright red and looks away. "Shut up!"

"Oh, it's been too long, Grimmjow," I laugh. "Even if you were a major jerk back when you were in Aizen's army. Well, not that you've changed much,"

He smirks. "Speaking of changing, I hear you've been doing it a lot lately,"

"Well, yeah. That scumbag Nnoitra sneak-attacked me and broke my mask,"

"Broke your mask? Whoa," he winces. "What happened to you after that?"

Before I can reply, he holds up his hand and says, "No, wait. I'm thirsty. Let's go grab a drink; we can talk then,"

Rolling my eyes again, I follow him. My alcohol tolerance is pretty high, a fact I'm thankful for. We step inside a bar nearby and order our drinks. Grimmjow has a beer while I get a martini.

"So? What happened after your mask broke?"

"You _know_ what happened," I frowned.

"No, I don't," he frowns back.

"I became a child, remember? You even saw me in Hueco Mundo. I was there beside Ichigo when you brought the girl, Inoue Orihime, in to heal him before you fought him," As an afterthought, I add, "before you lost to him,"

"Shut up! Wait…that kid…was _you_? Seriously?"

I facepalmed. What was this guy? Stupidity Incarnate? Or just plain unobservant and forgetful?

"Yes. I was that kid. I turned back after a while, though. I came to this town after a while to see Ichigo, but apparently, he'd lost his powers and the ability to see spirits,"

"Well that sucks. And then you decided to stay here?"

"Yup. I'm working at the bank. Thank goodness for gender equality – I'm in a high-powered job now, even though I've only been working for about a month now. Although…the hiring manager was pretty shocked because of my hair. He was probably in half a mind to reject me because of it. But I was qualified, so he didn't want to lose me to some competitor,"

"As expected of you,_"_ he says and I smile, pleased.

"What about you? What've you been doing?"

"Well…it's only been about half a month since I arrived here. But it's not like I've been idle. I'm a professional fighter now,"

"Fighter?"

"Yup. Savate," Upon seeing my puzzled expression, he explains, "It's a French Martial Arts style involving kickboxing. I also occasionally give lessons at the new Martial Arts training centre that opened up recently,"

"Well…good for you that you're actually putting some of that destructive energy to a good use," I say, raising my glass. "It's kinda hard to imagine you as a teacher, though," I giggle.

"Hey – I'm pretty good at it, ok!" he says, and downs his beer. "Y'know, speaking of that new Martial Arts centre, I've seen Kurosaki there before,"

"Really? He does martial arts?"

"Yup. The centre teaches various arts. I teach Savate sometimes, but they also teach other styles like Mixed Martial Arts or Krav Maga. I remember he was in the MMA class. He left after class chatting away with some hottie,"

I snort. "Huh! Well, I guess he is at _that_ age. Though he seemed pretty clueless when it came to girls back in Hueco Mundo,"

"Yeah. He's an idiot through and through,"

"Not like your love life has been any better!"

"Same goes for you!" he says triumphantly, and I turn red. That was a stupid thing to say.

"What else do you do in your free time, though? Well, that is, if you do have free time when you're not training or fighting or teaching,"

"Well, I initially had nothing to do, but for the past week, I found a new hobby – Twitter,"

"What?"

He frowns. "Twitter. It's a social networking site,"

"I know! What I meant was – you actually know how to use a computer?"

"Well, of course! What kind of idiot doesn't know how to use computers these days?

We both laugh and he continues, "I got an invite to join this closed group on Twitter, see, and I accepted. Most of my free time, I spend chatting with them. It's funny how entertaining humans can be. For all their weakness, they sure can be fun to talk to,"

"Hang on – a closed group?" instantly, the letter I received comes to mind. Did Grimmjow too receive this same letter?

"Yeah. It's private, I mean,"

"Is it, by any chance…named _KarakuraRei_?" I ask innocently.

"Yeah, it is!" he says incredulously. "How'd you know? Unless…you're a member too?"

Instead of saying anything, I hand him the letter.

"Wow. So you just got invited, huh?"

"Yeah. At first, I had no idea what to do with it. I was thinking, what if it was Aizen or someone and they wanted my power for some reason or another,"

"Nah. Relax, they're all humans," he says, chewing on some peanuts.

"How'd you know?"

"Because I've met some of them before," he says seriously. "I've gotten in a few illegal street fights before and met some underground guys. Believe it or not, there's a pretty big underground in this city,"

"Underground? You mean like the subway?"

He facepalms. It's ironic to see _him_ facepalm at something _I_ just said.

"No! Underground as in secret societies, shady organisations and what-have-you! Not literally underground! Anyway, some of them also belong to this group, and those guys told me that it's made of humans. You know that this city is a spirit nexus right?"

"Yeah. It's the reason why Aizen targeted this city in the first place,"

"Exactly. As a nexus, a greater proportion of its population is spiritually aware. And many of these people are on Twitter, on this group, and chatting with one another. Normally, you've got book clubs, fight clubs, even food clubs. But for this town, you've got a ghost club. And these guys aren't a bunch of Otakus obsessed over horror stories and urban legends," I chuckle at his choice of words. "They actually can see spirits and just gather online to share their experiences and make new friends,"

"So, it's just an online club for ghost-watchers? Sounds like a waste of time,"

"Not really. Sometimes they even have useful things like job offers online. Just two days ago someone requested a strong guy to help with some of his errands and I signed up. I made 100 US dollars from that one job. Who knows? Maybe someone'll offer good money for stock tips or accounting services!"

"Still, it sounds kinda shady. Didn't you just say there were some underground people in this club?"

"Well, yeah. But not everyone's like that. How do I put this? Think of it as a party where you meet people both legal and illegal, involved in normal and shady activities. You can go and talk to anyone, and you can walk out of the party alone or with a date who can be either legal or illegal. It's all up to you, really,"

I mulled it over once again. It really didn't seem too bad an idea from what Grimmjow's just told me.

"You know what? I think I'll try it. It could be fun!"

"Oh, trust me, it will be!" he laughs.

Later that evening

I followed all the instructions and soon, my secret online identity had been crafted. It was Time To Tweet!

**Shibusawa Sanae **a HelloSanae 10s

_Good evening, everyone! Thank you for inviting me to this society. I hope we can all get along well!_

I wrote the above in formal Japanese. I randomly chose my handle and disabled my location settings. After a few minutes, I refreshed the page and there were a few replies.

**Ono Gustave** a Gus 10s

_Glad you decided to take up the invitation, number Three! Have fun!_

"Number three"? Oh, I get it – it's a reference to my old Espada number. So that's Grimmjow!It's so amusing to see him using formal language on the web! Chuckling lightly, I move on to the other replies.

**Sawashiro Misaki** a Misaki 1m

_Welcome aboard, Shibusawa-san! It's always nice to have new members. I hope you enjoy your time here!_

**Hiroshi Akane** a RedStar 2m

_It's good to have you here, Shibusawa-san! Please do tell us when you see spirits around! And when you hear other interesting stuff :P_

There were a few more replies, and then someone made a post about Korean pop music and sparked off a lively discussion which I joined with gusto. Luckily, there were no flamers or trolls and, just as Grimmjow had said, it was fun to chat with these people. It looks like my life's gonna be a lot more fun from now on. I laugh as I think about all the people I've left behind in Hueco Mundo. I'm lucky I made the decision to come here instead of stay behind there. While they go by their lives eating other Hollows and fighting, I'm here working in a high-powered job and chatting with interesting people on Twitter.

My life is full of ups and downs. But it's awesome!

_To be continued_

Just in case it wasn't clear, in the first part of the story, when Nel was passed by two people on a bike – that was actually Tatsuki and Ichigo, on their way to the Commercial District for their coffee, as described in the previous chapter.

This meeting between Grimmjow and Nel takes place on the same day Tatsuki and Ichigo went out for coffee. This is about a week before Ichigo himself joins KarakuraRei as described in the previous chapter. Nelliel's handle is Shibusawa Sanae and Grimmjow's is Ono Gustave.


End file.
